Our Tribe increases by One

SHE'S HERE! 



 

 

So, this is the best I can do for now.  I know that everyone is waiting for a picture.  Ian wants to do the post and I guess I need to let that happen.  He just got home a few minutes ago - it is 11:00pm.  He has gone to bed for an hour and plans to get up, shower and write the last half of his last paper and lesson plans for tomorrow.

 

He and Eleftheria got to hold Artemis this evening and I promise you that there are some very nice pictures coming, hopefully tomorrow.  She is beautiful! 

 

 

 

The clinic is a lovely, new private facility.  Lots of windows and sunshine, hence the picture.  I am working backwards from this morning.  We were sternly swooshed from the area where the new mothers and babies are at 1:30 on the dot.  So, we retreated to the lobby and visited for a few more minutes and took a few pictures.  We got to see Artemis through nursery glass and louvered blinds two times for about 15 seconds and then had to move out of the way as it was some other families turn for a 15 second visit with their baby.  So that is it until she comes home on Saturday afternoon.  There are morning and afternoon visiting hours with Eleftheria and Ian has an hour extension on each of those so he can be in the room when they bring Artemis to nurse.

 

 

 

Eleftheria walked out to the maternity visiting area shortly after they brought her up to her room.  We were not really expecting to see her.  The two young women in front of her are close friends.  Marianna was her Cubarro (maid of honor), she flew in from England where she is a dentist, and Christina was a brides maid.  She flew in from Germany where she is a practicing GP studying to be a neurosurgeon.  It is customary for the new mother to serve sweets to the many visitors who come to the hospital and for the new father to serve whiskey to the men.  When Eleftheria and the baby come home there will be a period of 40 days when they will stay home and have visits only from close family.  This is both cultural and religious and pretty generally respected by everyone.  A close friend had a baby 30 days ago and the "girls" all went to visit night before last - a little early because everyone was home and would be leaving again today or tomorrow. 

 

 

Tuesday evening we went in to the Centre for a few hours.  While Ian and Eleftheria went for their doctor's apt, we wandered around looking in the store windows and took in the sites and sounds.  It was very busy and festive.

 

 

 

There are a couple of rides set up and as you can see from the photo, lots of

lights.  It looks like daytime in this area.

 

 

 

This is the street market in our neighborhood.  The photo is from the balcony.  It is a small one, but within a few minutes we had fresh fruit, fish and vegetables for the week.  There is a market in a different neighborhood in the city each day and the big market in the center is open Monday - Saturday

 

 

Also seen from the balcony is the local church.  In the afternoon we took a walk that

direction.

 

 

 

...and this is the view from up close.  Pat has some really nice pictures that he will post later.



 

Picture of the day...well, not really...you will have to wait for that one.

 

Well, it is midnight and I just heard Ian's alarm go off.  I will go and get him up and then I am going to call it a night.

 

Love you all.  Artemis pictures soon...Karen